Research Methodology Terms

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Bias

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A particular preference or point of view that is personal, rather than scientific.

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Cause and Effect

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A relationship in which change in one variable causes change in another.

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Correlation

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A relationship between two variables in which a change in one coincides with a change in the other.

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Generalizability

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The extent to which the findings from one group (or sample) can be generalized or applied to other groups (or populations).

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Hawthorne Effect

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A change in a subject's behavior caused simply by the awareness of being studied.

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Operational Definitions

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Concrete definitions of the variables that are being studied.

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Population

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All the cases in a group, from which samples may be drawn for a study.

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Qualitative Research

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Sociological research methods that use interpretive description (words) rather than statistics (numbers) to analyze underlying meanings and patterns of social relationships.

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Quantitative Research

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Research that collects and reports data primarily in numerical form.

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Reliability

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The extent to which a test yields consistent results.